Another Path to Follow
by milady78
Summary: QuiGon does not take ObiWan as a padawan learner. In desperation the Force sends the almost thirteen year old into the Old Republic era so that he might learn under a different master.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Another Path to Follow

**Author**: Milady78

**Timeframe**: KOTOR 2, JA AU

**Characters**: LSF Exile, Obi-Wan

**Keywords**: AU, time travel

**Summary**: Qui-Gon does not take Obi-Wan as a padawan learner. In desperation the Force sends the almost thirteen year old into the Old Republic era so that he might learn under a different master.

**Disclaimer:** Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. I'm just borrowing his World for a bit.

**Warning**: This is an AU. This will not be a retelling of the game with Obi-Wan simply added to the crew. There will be changes to canon. Some changes are small. Some are rather large.

This story is also posted to the Jedi Council Forums. There will likely be 1 to 2 more chapters posted on the Jedi Council than here at any given time. The link is on my profile page.

**Prologue**

The future is always in motion. It ebbs and flows. Each decision. Each action. Each inaction by sentient beings around the galaxy changes its course. It is the way of the Universe. The Way of the Force.

Always in motion. But sometimes the future flows down a path it should not follow. The Force knows many of the possible future outcomes. It tries to direct, guide, encourage the better destination. But sometimes it is not enough. For in the end it is up to the individual. And they do not always see the possibilities. They choose the easier path. They misunderstand. They cannot hear. They ignore. Even those who should know. Its chosen few who are born with the ability to feel Its presence. Trained to hear Its whisper in the wind. Even they sometimes choose another path.

Always in motion. A comfort to many. A reminder of hope. Of free will. But not to all. Not to a young boy crying into his pillow on a distant planet far from all he knows. His dreams shattered. All his hopes for the future gone. This is not the path the Force wanted. The boy is one of Its chosen. One with the potential to blaze as a sun. One whose presence could have affected the lives of sentients around the galaxy for generations to come. But no longer. The Force did not wish this to happen. It tried to direct his destiny down a more preferred path. The ancient one had heard Its warnings. He had tried to intercede. To manipulate events so that the boy would be trained. But his chosen mentor did not listen. The mistakes of another blinded him to the potential of the boy. His pain dampened Its voice. He ignored Its call. Now the future is forever changed.

But perhaps not. Perhaps the boy can be sent to another. One who had always listened to Its voice. Who had suffered for doing so by those who did not understand. One who blazed as the boy might. Yes, when the time was right she would listen to the Force. She would train him. And until then she would protect him to the best of her ability. There is a risk, but it is the boy's only chance. The Force has never taken such drastic steps before. It likely never will again. But this once It will act rather than whisper and forever change the fate of one and perhaps through him the galaxy. The rest is up to others. The boy and the individuals he touches as he travels on this new path. For the future is always in motion.

The Force wraps the boy in Its embrace. He has cried himself to sleep. It whispers, "I will always be there. You need only to listen," before sending him on his journey.


	2. Chapter 1

Thanks to **Draconarius** for looking over this chapter, **Killiktwilight** for beta'ing, and **VaderLVR64** for checking the Obi-Wan parts.

Chapter 1 

In a darkened room were six kolto tanks, all occupied. The computers designed to monitor those within detected no change in their status for almost 20 standard hours. But then one began to stir. The woman's vitals indicated that she would soon awake. The computer sent a message to the appropriate console indicating her change in status and waited for a response. The woman's vitals continued to improve. With no response dictating otherwise, the computer followed its last entered command. The lights in the room turned on, and a robotic arm lifted the woman out of the tank and placed her on the floor. Its task complete, the computer turned off. The others would monitor their tanks.

Consciousness returned slowly to Kyr'na Nim. She automatically reached for the Force to ease her pounding head and clear the cobwebs from her mind, only to be reminded of its absence. Even after nearly ten years, the anguish of that loss had not lessened. Pushing away the mental agony by sheer force of will, she tried to remember what had happened. She had been on a ship heading towards Republic space. The smell of kolto was in the air. She must be in a medical facility of some kind. She trembled in the cold air. Her skin felt wet and sticky. She knew that feeling all to well. It meant she had just come from another visit from her old friend, the kolto tank. She had thought those visits had ended with the War. With her exile. There was once a time when waking up shivering after a harrowing mission was a common occurrence. She could almost hear the Coruscanti-accented voice of Master Kole saying, "Padawan, nearly all of my grey hairs can be traced to me waiting for you to come out of a kolto tank. You really must try to be more careful. I will not always be there to bring you to medical aid." Banishing the memories of her late Master to the back of her mind she tried to determine the reason why she had been in a kolto tank. Her mind was blank. She could not remember being injured or even being in danger.

Putting aside the issue of how she got hurt for another time, she focused on her surroundings. She was lying on her stomach. On a cold metal surface. That didn't sound right. Kyr'na slowly opened her eyes. At first the brightness of the room blinded her, but her eyes soon adjusted to the light. She really was lying on a metal surface, a metal floor to be exact.

She heard a strange sound coming from above and behind her. Her mind was still far too sluggish from whatever drugs she had been given to accurately identify it. She slowly turned her head, and when the blurriness passed she saw a body being taken out of a kolto tank by a robotic arm. The body was placed on the floor next to her. It appeared to be a boy. He looked human between eleven and fourteen standard years of age. He like her was dressed only in undergarments.

After seeing his chest rise and fall a few times she lifted her head further so she could examine the room. There was something odd about the ceiling. Blinking in surprise, she realized it was made of some type of rock. Its surface was rough. Not the medlab of the Harbinger than. So where was she? She could tell little by the contents of the room. It was circular with six kolto tanks and only one exit. Four of the tanks appeared to have other beings in them.

Slowly, Kyr'na pushed herself into first a kneeling position than standing. Her arms shock from the exertion. The room spun around and around a few times before finally righting itself. Eventually she succeeded, even though her legs let her know that it was far too soon for her to attempt to stand, and they really didn't like the idea of walking. Carefully, she checked each of the kolto tanks. Her steps were agonizingly slow for she did not want her face to meet the floor. Again.

She made sure that she was aware of any sound or movement from the boy or the door. The sensors on each of the tanks indicated all four humans were dead. It would seem that for every question answered more questions were raised. How did they die? Why were they still in their tanks? Where were the medical personnel or medical droids to monitor her and the boy's condition? After all, if someone was injured enough to need time in a tank, you don't just dump them in and forget about them.

Her internal musings were interrupted when she heard a groan from the boy. Rushing over to him, she helped the youngling into a sitting position.

"Wha…What happened?" He whispered.

"I had hoped you might be able to answer that question, young one. I am Kyr'na."

"Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"It is all fuzzy…I…I was on… Bandomeer," the pain in his voice at the name suggested his memories of this "Bandomeer" were not pleasant. She did not recognize it. "Somehow I ended up…elsewhere." Looking around, he realized, "This is the room I woke up in." He rubbed his arms trying to gain some warmth. "Why was I in a bacta tank?" Bacta? Kyr'na searched through her knowledge of alien languages and cultures, but she was unfamiliar with the term. The boy put his hand to his nose, "This does not smell right."

"You just came out of a kolto tank." He repeated the word silently to himself. Clearly he was as unfamiliar of the term "kolto" as she was of "bacta". "Do you remember how you were injured?"

"I was…sitting on a bed trying to stay out of everyone's way. People kept whispering and giving me strange looks. I do not think they knew what to do with me…They got upset when I asked them to contact the Council…My back…It suddenly felt like it was on fire…Then I woke up here. Again." While he was talking he started rubbing his back as if unconsciously checking to make sure he was in one piece. "Nothing makes sense. I should not be here. This is not where I am supposed to be."

In the hope of distracting him from his current train of thought, she asked, "Do you know where we are?"

"They said this was Per..something…Perg…No. Per..Peragus. That is it. Peragus Mining Facility."

"That explains the ceiling," She said with a wry smile.

"Huh…" He looked up at the ceiling. "How did I miss that the last time I was here?"

Repeating a favorite saying of Master Kole's, "'It pays to look up from time to time. If only to avoid things falling on you.' Do you think you can stand?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Something isn't right here. And the answers we seek will not be found in this room."


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks again to **Draconarius**, **Killiktwilight**, and **VaderLVR64** for looking this over.

**Reminder**- This is an AU. There will be changes both small and large. Those familiar with the game will notice some of those changes in this chapter. They were deliberate.

**Chapter 2**

Kyr'na Nim kept Obi-Wan behind her as she opened the door to the med lab. A quick survey of the room indicated no obvious threat, so she slowly entered. The lack of beings attacking them was a comfort. It was the lack of medical personnel or medical droids that was cause for concern. After all those stays in healer's wards and med labs around the galaxy, all those times when all she wanted was for the army of healers, nurses, and droids to stay far away from her, to finally have them no where in sight, was disconcerting. _And_ extremely worrisome.

The med lab was in complete disarray. Flimsiplasts and boxes littered the floor. There was a large area of carbon scoring on the floor near the bed in the corner of the room. Remembering what Obi-Wan had said earlier, she asked, "Is this the room that you were in before?"

He stared at the large burn spot on the floor and the partially burned bed for a moment before saying, "Yes, I was sitting right there. What do you think happened?"

Laying a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I do not know. Why don't you check those cabinets and lockers and see if you can find our clothes or anything useful." After he went towards the cabinets on the far wall, she started examining the contents of the desk in the room. There was a half-full mug of caf next to a series of personal holos. In her experience it took an extreme emergency for medical personnel to leave even a drop of caf lying around, usually not even then.

Finding nothing useful in the flimsiplasts on the desk or the floor, she started to head towards the sole computer console in the room, when Obi-Wan exclaimed, "My clothes." He hugged them to his chest as if they were a great treasure. It would seem having something familiar in the midst of all this uncertainty was of some comfort to the boy.

"That's good. Why don't you get dressed? I am sure you will feel better once you are fully clothed again."

"I could not find anything for you," he said in almost a whisper. Seeing the look on his face, it was as if he believed that it was his fault that he had clothes, but she did not.

"That's all right. Get changed. I will manage." After ensuring that he was all right, she accessed the computer console. Unsure where to begin, she decided to use the id number of the kolto tank that she had been in. With the id number she was able to look up any medical logs pertaining to her. She skimmed through various transcripts of the holologs and med-reports hoping to find some clue as to how she ended up in a kolto tank or some hint as to where the medical staff disappeared to.

"Have you found anything?"

"Hmm. Well, it seems I was brought here on a ship called the Ebon Hawk. Strange. The last thing I remember was being on the Harbinger. Besides myself, they found a dead woman and two droids. That was three days ago." Kyr'na continued to search through the records. Having read the initial medical assessment from when she first arrived, she would have thought that she would have woken up sooner. Perhaps there were further complications. She was surprised to read that they thought she was a Jedi. Why would they think that? There was no sign of a midi-chlorian count being taken. Besides, this facility did not seem equipped to run the appropriate tests. Did someone recognize her from the War? And why would her being a Jedi be cause for concern? Was this an illegal operation?

Pushing aside her questions, she said, "There was some sort of mining accident the following day. Apparently it was not the only one they had had recently. The miners in the other kolto tanks were injured in that accident." Reading further she came to an entry about Obi-Wan, "It seems you were found on the floor of the kolto room a little over twenty-four hours ago….Hmm. You caused quite a stir…" Looking back at the youngling, she said in shock and surprise, "You asked them to call the _Jedi_ Council."

"Yes, I did. They barely talked to me after that. They just put me in the corner out of the way and would look at me oddly from time to time, whispering to each other."

"You are a Jedi?" she asked. When Obi-Wan had mentioned a Council earlier, it had not occurred to her that he had meant the Jedi Council. A foolish lapse, but Jedi younglings his age are usually safe at the Temple or with their Master. The boy did not have a padawan braid and had never mentioned concern for an absent Master. Still, she should have asked what Council he had meant, if only because he had said that asking to contact them had upset the people of this place.

"I was. But…but…I was not chosen. I was not _good_ enough…He left me…He left me." Rushing over to the distraught child, she held him tightly as he broke down into tears. As she whispered meaningless words to the quivering youngling, Kyr'na thought back to her own past. She vividly remembered the pain she had felt as her age mates continued to become padawans, while she had not. Her Braiding Ceremony was not until the afternoon before her thirteenth life day. She had come so close to missing her chance.

She continued to hold him for a few minutes before he finally quieted and said in a hoarse whisper, "Sorry."

"There is no reason to feel shame. You have obviously had a difficult few days." Giving him some privacy to regain his composure, she returned to the computer console.

A few minutes later he asked, "Why would they be upset about contacting the Council?"

"I do not know. There could be many reasons. Did they give any hint of what the problem was?"

"No. They were very careful not to talk where I could hear. But I did hear them mention a Jedi. She was in some type of tank…You are the Jedi they were talking about."

"_You are a Jedi no longer."_ Pushing the memories to the back of her mind she said in a carefully controlled voice, "Yes, I am the person they were talking about. But they were wrong. I am blind to the Force."

"Oh." The disappointment in that simple sound was almost painful to hear. Clearly wanting to change the subject he asked, "Does the computer mention how I was hurt?"

Appreciating the reprieve from her own painful memories, Kyr'na said, "It seems that less than an hour after you were found in the kolto room, a droid mysteriously malfunctioned. The explosion knocked you unconscious and caused some minor burns and lacerations. Luckily you turned your back to the droid just before the explosion…Hmm. Interesting. It seems the mystery of the missing personnel is at least partially explained. Approximately one and a half hours after you were injured, there was another accident in the mines. The entry seems to blame it on malfunctioning droids. It ended rather abruptly. Before it did, an announcement was partially recorded. It mentioned a 'fuel detonation in the mining tunnels'. An emergency lockdown was put into effect. All personnel were directed to report to their quarters." Of course, that did not explain why they were still missing after 22 hours. Nor did it explain the dead bodies in the kolto tanks.

Perhaps an investigation of the treatments administered to the kolto tanks would shed some light. After some searching, she found records that showed a lethal dose of sedatives being administered to those four tanks. She and Obi-Wan had also received a large dose but not at lethal levels. Checking the time of the dosages, she discovered that they were ordered forty-seven minutes after the emergency lockdown was put into effect. It took her a few minutes to attempt to backtrack the signal. Apparently, it was issued by remote from another console, but she could not determine which computer or by whom.

Finding all she could from this computer console, she asked, "Obi-Wan, can you hand me that datapad? It's on the desk."

"You want to use this? It looks like a piece of junk. Does it even work?"

Smiling she took the datapad from him and downloaded the information that she had found concerning recent events. Some government official somewhere would want this information in the future. While it was doing so, she said, "The datapad may not be whatever is currently on the market, but it is still perfectly functional. This model was popular during the Mandalorian War."

"Mandalorian War? But…But that is ancient history!"

"As with many things in life I suppose it depends on your point of view. To some it seems like only yesterday…To others…the War seems like a lifetime ago."

"But…the Mandalorian War was _thousands _of years ago."

Unsure why he would think that she stated calmly, "The War ended almost ten years ago."

"That…that is impossible."

"I assure you it is possible. I am quite certain. Perhaps you are confusing it with another war. You were rather young when the war ended."

"No. No, I am not." He started pacing. His voice became more and more agitated as he spoke, "There has not been a galactic wide war in a thousand years. The Mandalorian War was almost _four thousand_ years ago. I had to memorize the date for a timeline of major galactic events in my history class two months ago. I am right. I know I am."

As she listened to him, she could not help wondering why he would believe this. Could his past have been so horrible that he created this reality in his head? One where the War happened long ago? Was he even a Jedi?

"I am _NOT_ crazy!"

Kyr'na decided to at least confirm his Jedi training. Observing the near hysterical youngling closely, she gave a command that any initiate of the Temple would recognize, "Release it into the Force." His response was immediate. He closed his eyes and stopped pacing. The tension slowly left his body. He clearly had difficulty with the technique, but he performed it as well as any of his age mates at the Temple would have. He was Jedi-trained at least.

As Obi-Wan opened his eyes, he said firmly without the hard edge of before, "I am not crazy."

Putting a hand on his shoulder she said, "Whatever circumstances brought you to this place, no matter where or when you came from, you are _here_ now. And we must focus _ON_ the here and now. Things in this place are not right. We cannot afford to be distracted by matters that are currently outside our control. As soon as is possible, I will see that you get to the Jedi Council. Until then, focus on the present."

"Yes, ma'am," he said in a near whisper.

Seeing that the data transfer was complete, she quickly used the computer console to check the cameras that monitored the rooms in the medical wing. The kolto room was as she remembered it. The morgue had two bodies lying on tables waiting to be autopsied. She would find nothing of use there. The storage room had rows of barrels and boxes in it. The images showed none of the chaos that was in the office proper and no people.

Perhaps there was something of use within those boxes and barrels. She quickly skimmed through the inventory. "Hmm." Most of the supplies were useless. Looking at the dates, some of the medicine was well past its expiration date. Though, that might be deliberate. If she remembered correctly some alien races required the expiration of certain medicines in order to be effective for their physiology. The inventory did mention two small medkits, an assortment of pain killers, some extra bandages, and a package of kolto jell meant to be applied to minor injuries.

"Did you happen to find any type of bag in your search, Obi-Wan?"

"There was a dust-covered backpack in one of the lockers."

"Perfect. Can you bring it over?"

After unlocking the secured room, she logged out of the system and entered the storage room in the back of the med lab. Working quickly she put a small pile together of the few useful medical supplies stored in the room.

"Thanks," she said absentmindedly as Obi-Wan handed her a small brown backpack.

"What are you doing?"

"People may be injured. Better to have the supplies than to wish for them later and be empty-handed…Ah…here are the bandages." Stuffing everything into the backpack, she quickly put it on, moving her still sticky hair out of the way as she did so. Her hair could be a problem. During her exile she had let her padawan haircut grow out. Her usually silky black hair went halfway down her back. Her hair might get in her way if there was some type of trouble. Once back in the med lab, she grabbed the hair tie that was on the desk and put her hair into a simple bun. Just in case.

"All right. I think that's all we can do here."

Back in the corridor, Kyr'na took a closer look at the door barring their way. "The controls to the door seems to be damaged somehow."

"What about that door?" Obi-Wan asked while pointing to the door across from the med lab.

"That's the morgue. It only has the one door. I doubt we will find anything useful amongst the dead. Hmm. I might be able to hot-wire the door control." Though she was not the most technologically gifted, all padawans were taught the basics. "I think I got it. Stay behind me."

The door opened to chaos. Three dead bodies were in the small corridor. Two broken droids littered the ground. There were signs of some sort energy discharge on the walls and floor. Smoke was coming from some of the wreckage.

"It looks like a war zone."

"Not quite so large," she said softly as memories of dozens of battlefields flashed before her eyes. "But tragic none the less." Kneeling down she examined one of the corpses in the room.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"At best guess, it appears as though they were attacked by the droids."

"What would battle droids be doing on a mining facility?"

"These are not battle droids. They appear to be some type of mining droid. I do not recognize the model. The logs in the med lab did mention that the droids were malfunctioning."

Looking at all the death and destruction, Obi-Wan said, "Some malfunction."

Some malfunction indeed. Remembering the murdered miners in the kolto tanks, perhaps the malfunction was in fact sabotage. Only time would tell. She quickly searched the bodies, hoping to find some clue as to what had happened to the droids. A datapad or datacard would be useful, or a commlink to contact any possible survivors. After searching all three bodies, all she found was a few credit chips.

She did find a vibroblade partially concealed by the wreckage of one of the droids. The blade was of inferior quality and badly cared for. Its recent use against the droids had certainly not helped its condition, but as the two droids would attest, it could get the job done.

She gave the vibroblade a few practice swings getting used to its feel. As she did so, she looked around the corridor once more. It was only four meters long with heavy blast doors on either end. Nothing else. There were no other doors. No equipment or computers filled the space. All that was there was uneven rocky walls with sporadic air vents. Corridors of this type were usually designed in sequence allowing certain portions to be sealed off in case of an emergency. It was a small confined space with nowhere to find cover.

Still swinging the blade, she looked at the blast door before her. Would they find droids behind those doors in a similar-looking corridor? She tried to envision it. One or more of these spider-like droids firing some type of mining laser. While probably not as powerful as a blaster, they were still dangerous. The three dead miners were proof of that.

No blaster.

No cover.

No lightsaber. Of course, she would be unwilling to use one had she actually had one in her hand. Such a weapon was too dangerous in the hands of someone unable to feel the Force. A part of her still grieved the loss of her lightsaber. There were times when she could almost feel the hilt in her hand, still hear its comforting hum, but it was gone, taken from her long ago.

She only had a simple vibroblade of poor quality to defend herself and Obi-Wan against one or more droids. Him unarmed and defenseless. It took years before a padawan could reliably call on the Force to aid themselves in dangerous conditions. He was inexperienced and far too young.

And Obi-Wan was not chosen.

Since her exile she had only had to defend herself once. It was years ago. A mugger had foolishly thought that a woman only 1.63 meters tall traveling alone would be an easy mark. He had learned how mistaken he was. But the weaponless techniques that she had used on that incompetent would-be mugger would be useless on these insect-like droids.

If only she could still feel the Force. With it she could attempt to push any droids into a rocky grave. She could monitor Obi-Wan's position in relation to the lethal blasts and augment her reflexes. Strength could be added to her slashes. She could hear the Force's warnings.

But her ability to feel it was suppressed. The Force had been taken from her by those who Kyr'na should have been able to trust. She would never sense it again. She would never feel its vibrancy and warmth. Never feel its comforting embrace. In its place only a gaping wound remained. It was a wound that would never heal. A lifelong companion had been ripped from her grasp and forever banned from her presence. A major sensory ability that she had used and felt since she was a baby had been ruthlessly crushed without possibility of restoration. There would be no reprieves. Her sentence was for life without hope of appeal. The Force was gone. Forever.

In the nearly ten years since her exile began, not a day had passed that she did not unconsciously try to connect to the Force. Again and again she was reminded of its loss. When her dreams were not haunted by the horrors of the War, they were filled with simple snapshots from a time when she could still feel its presence. Those dreams of the quiet moments were at times more painful than her nightmares filled with the chaos of War. For in her dreams she could still listen to the vibrant symphony of the Living Force. She could feel it surround and fill her as she performed lightsaber forms. She could simply meditate in one of the many gardens within the Temple. In her dreams she was finally whole, and then she would awaken to a world of emptiness and blindness.

"_Remember Padawan, the Force is always present. It is in the heart of Coruscant. In the depths of the deepest rainforest. In the driest desert. Its presence is in a simple blade of grass. Amongst the smallest grains of sand. It resides even in the vacuum of space. It will always be there. Just stretch out your senses, and you will feel it."_ That lecture had been a comfort for so many years. But now its memory only brought her pain. The Force was there. She knew it was. But it was just beyond her reach. And it would remain so for as long as she lived.

"_Focus on the here and now."_ Master Kole's words of wisdom were as true now as they were then. Pushing back her grief and pain, she focused on the present.

She would have to move in close to any droids that she should find beyond the closed blast doors. It was the only way to use the vibroblade. She would have to be quick on her feet in order to avoid the laser blasts. And if there was more than one? One or a dozen, with no place to find cover, Obi-Wan would be exposed.

Holding him after his breakdown flashed through her mind. He was just a scared and helpless child who was all alone. So young. She did not know whether he was from the future or not, but she did know that he was far from all he knew, inexperienced in the harshness of the galaxy. And here he was, in a place where miners were murdered while defenseless in their kolto tanks and people were "mined" by malfunctioning droids.

"_Protect the defenseless, the weak."_ Kyr'na may be blind to the Force's voice. She may no longer be a Jedi, but she would not betray Master Kole's teachings or a lifetime of service in the Order. They may have abandoned her, but she would remain true to its ideals. She silently made a vow to herself that she would do all that she could to protect the boy.

Looking around one last time she realized that she would not be able to do so under these conditions.

Decision made, she stopped swinging the vibroblade and mentally prepared herself for the argument that was bound to follow.


	4. Chapter 3

Thanks again to **Killiktwilight** and **VaderLVR64** for looking this over.

**Chapter 3**

Obi-Wan watched in awe as Kyr'na swung the sword that she had found among the destroyed droids. Though she was standing rather than using a proper fighting stance, he doubted its lack was due to a deficiency in skill. Her movements were far too smooth and graceful. She appeared oblivious to her actions. Absent-mindedly she would perform slashes and parries and then seamlessly change hands. The sword would move from one hand to the next, all while she stared at the closed door at the other end of the corridor or periodically looked around.

Remembering his own lightsaber forms he felt clumsy and inept in comparison. Even when fully concentrating, he could never match the elegance and skill that she showed with her distracted swings. And now he never would. Wherever he was, whatever the year, he would never be a Jedi Knight. He had not been chosen. Instead he had been sent to join the AgriCorps to be a farmer.

"_Focus on the here and now."_

Kyr'na stopped swinging the sword and turned to face him. The look in her grey eyes was filled with determination and resolve. Why did he have a feeling that he was not going to like what she was about to say?

"Obi-Wan, I want you to stay here while I scout ahead."

"What! You are leaving me?"

"You'll be safe here. I will come back after I have checked the area."

No. Not again. Master Qui-Gon had left him on Bandomeer. She could not leave him, too. Not here. Not surrounded by the dead. What if he really was in the past? He could be stuck here. She had promised to help, promised to take him to the Council. Did she lie? Would he remain here forever with only rotting corpses for company until he died of dehydration? Or would he end up like these miners, killed by malfunctioning droids?

Again he was filled with a strong sense of wrongness. He was supposed to become a Jedi Knight, not a farmer. He was not supposed to be 'mined' by some droid in the distant past. This was not where he belonged. Why had Qui-Gon left? Why was he not good enough to be a padawan? He did not want to be a farmer. He did not want to die in the past. He should be home, at the Temple. In his own time period!

"Release it into the Force, Obi-Wan."

As with before, hearing the familiar command caused him to still. As he had been taught, he took a deep breath and than let it out slowly. After a few repetitions he was able to get a firm enough connection to the Force.

Breathe in. He released his confusion as to where he was into the Force. Breathe out.

Breathe in. His worries that he might be in the past were also banished. Breathe out.

Next he sent his grief and pain at Master Qui-Gon's rejection and abandonment.

In the following breath, his anguish over his shattered dreams of becoming a Jedi Knight was sent into the Force.

Finally, he released his fears for his and Kyr'na's safety. He took a moment to bask in the Force's comforting embrace. He knew that he would not be able to keep the connection for long. He never could. He savored the feeling of peace and security that he felt from the Force.

As he opened his eyes he said, "We should stick together."

"I am merely going to scout ahead. I will be back."

"There could be other droids."

"That is precisely why I want you to stay here. You will be safe from them here."

"But you will not be." Obi-Wan did not understand why she was being so difficult. "I can help."

"Your courage does you credit, but please think for a moment. What help could you be against droids firing energy weapons. You are unarmed."

"I have the Force." He sensed a brief surge of pain from Kyr'na at his words before it was gone.

"Yes, you have the Force, and it can be a powerful ally, but you do not yet have the skill to wield it under such conditions."

"But…" He looked around trying to think of something that would convince her. When he saw one of the destroyed droids he said, "I could use the Force to push the droids."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said firmly without hint of doubt.

"See that droid over there." She pointed to the droid that had been his inspiration. "Levitate it into the air."

"_Do o__r do not. There is no try."_ He gained some comfort from Master Yoda's familiar refrain. After a deep calming breath, he reached out with the Force. He cast out his senses until he felt the floor and the air around the wreckage. It took a few attempts before he had a firm grip on the droid. Ever so slowly it began to lift, wavering as it did so. After the droid had been lifted approximately a meter into the air, he slowly brought it back onto the floor.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead he said once he was no longer out of breath, "I told you I could do it." He had never lifted something so big or so heavy before.

"Yes, you did well in lifting it. But you had difficulty. And that was when you were just slowly lifting it straight up into the air. In order to use the Force in defeating a droid of this type, you would need to slam it into some surface with a great deal of velocity. Given time and training, yes you would one day have the control and skill to be affective against such droids while unarmed, but you do not yet have such mastery. Padawans older than you would have had similar difficulty. And were one of those padawans here, unarmed, in place of you, I would ask them to remain here as well. Even with their greater control and experience. Obi-Wan, please. Do not fight me in this. Stay here. I will return once I've ensured the immediate area is safe."

"But…you could be hurt or killed."

"I will not lie to you, Obi-Wan. I might very well be injured or even killed. I will do my best, but there is always that possibility. But if you were to come with me, the likelihood of you or I being killed is far too high. That is why you must stay here. Promise me that you will remain in this room. I cannot afford the distraction of worrying about you while defending myself."

Not wanting to be the cause of her death he said in a whisper, "I…I promise."

He watched in trepidation as she went through the blast door. Would he ever see her again? When he heard the sound of weapon's fire shortly after she left, he started to head towards the door only to stop. He had given his word.

As he began to pace, he wondered if he had made the right decision to stay behind. His earlier calm seemed only a distant memory. A true Jedi would be in there with her. A true Jedi would be calm and serene as he waited. Was this why he was not chosen?

He could not help trying to picture what was happening behind those doors. Was she lying there dead like the miners in this room? What would happen to him if she did not survive? He wished he were back in the Temple. Things were so much simpler then. Nothing here made much sense. Was everyone in this facility really dead? What was their problem with the Jedi? How did he get here? Was he really thousands of years in the past? How would he get home? Would he ever see Coruscant again? Would he ever walk the peaceful corridors of the Jedi Temple? It all seemed so hopeless.

Staring hard at the door, it felt like he had been waiting for hours. He had lost count of the number of times he had started towards the door only to stop.

When he heard the door finally open, he sighed in relief as he saw her in the doorway. He looked her over closely for some sign of injury. Even though she appeared to be uninjured, he could not stop himself from asking, "Are you all right?"

She smiled reassuredly before saying, "I'm fine. And look what I found." She held up some type of weapon.

"A blaster?"

"Not quite. It's a hand-held mining laser, which under the circumstances is better than a blaster. It seems that the substance that they are mining here is extremely volatile. A shot from a blaster could accidentally cause an explosion that would blow up this entire facility. This laser can safely be fired here. Let's go."

Obi-Wan followed her as she quickly walked through a series of similar looking corridors. As they passed each destroyed droid, he wondered which she had found like that and which she had had to fight.

They entered a small room. There were lockers against one wall and a desk with a computer console in the center of the room. There were two other doors one of which was open. As Kyr'na walked over to the computer console, he peaked into the open doorway. There were three destroyed droids in the tiny room and a couple empty footlockers. There were five corpses in all between the two rooms. Though he was saddened by the unknown personnel's deaths, he could not help feeling relief that it was not Kyr'na nor himself lying there.

Back in the main room, he asked, "What is this place?"

"It's a security office." Stepping away from the desk she said, "Have a seat, Obi-Wan." As he sat down she continued, "I want you to stay here while I clear the Administration Center. You can watch me on the computer console."

Looking at the images on the screen before him, he exclaimed, "But there are _SIX _droids in there."

"That's just the ones that are within the field of view of the cameras. There could be more out of sight." What a comforting thought.

"You will be killed."

"Here." She handed him another mining laser before continuing, "If something should happen to me you will be able to defend yourself. I do not know what kind of capacity it has, so try to keep your shots to a minimum."

"I am not going to stay here and watch you get killed." He held up the mining laser and said, "With this I can help."

"You will remain here where it is safe." Her voice was firm and unyielding.

"But I can help." He had stayed behind before, but he was not about to do it again. Especially when he knew the dangers she was about to face, and he had a weapon to defend her and himself.

"You can help by remaining here. Look, Obi-Wan, there's no place in that room with sufficient cover and there are far too many of them for you to come."

"The odds will be better if I come." He thought that that much was obvious.

"It's too risky. It will be safer for both of us if I go alone. I've been in worse situations than this. Trust me."

"And if you die?"

"Than I die. Death comes to us all. It is only a matter of the time and place. I will do all that I can to see that that time is not now."

"If you die, I will be alone."

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said, "You can never truly be alone, Obi-Wan. Unlike myself, you have the Force. You will always have it to guide and comfort you. You need only to listen. Should something happen to me, trust your instincts. Trust the Force. And whenever possible, release your fears and anxiety into the Force…that being said, I have no plans to die today. Please, promise me you will stay here."

Looking at the screen he said, "I will stay." As she walked out the door, he whispered, "May the Force be with you."

Once again Kyr'na left him alone as she headed into danger. Was he making a mistake? He now had a weapon. He could help. But would he actually be of assistance or would he be in the way? Again he had promised to stay. This time he could only watch. He was unsure which was worse. Waiting with no knowledge of what was happening or watching unable to do anything about what he saw.

How could she possibly think she could survive entering that room? The computer console showed seven different images. Six of them showed the same large room from different positions. It looked as if the room was roughly oval in shape with a large formation of the asteroid going from the floor to ceiling in its center. Scattered around the room were six of those spider-like droids. The seventh image showed a man behind some form of force cage.

Obi-Wan watched the screen as the entrance to the Administration Center opened. He clenched his fists tightly as he saw Kyr'na in the doorway. In her right hand she held the vibroblade and in her left the mining laser. To the right of the doorway was one of the droids. He watched as she took a deep breath and then entered the room firing at the droid.

What followed was something straight out of an action holo. Whenever possible she would use the equipment in the room for cover. More often than not, she was in the open exposed to one or more of the droids. When cover was unavailable, Kyr'na was in constant motion moving in an unpredictable path towards whichever droid was her current target. She was faster than Obi-Wan had thought possible in a non-Jedi. She used the mining laser in her left hand to shoot the droids and when she was close enough she would use the sword in her right hand. Before too long all six were destroyed.

Maybe staying behind was the correct choice after all.


	5. Chapter 4

Thanks again to **Draconarius**, **Killiktwilight**, and **VaderLVR64** for looking this over.

**Chapter 4**

After Kyr'na Nim had cleared the Administration Center of all the attacking mining droids, she took a minute to lean against the wall out of view of the cameras that Obi-Wan was watching. Though she had not lied to the youngling when she had said that she had been in worse situations, she had neglected to mention that almost all those times she had access to the Force. In her youth when her connection to the Force had been erratic and fleeting she had had Master Kole to protect her.

Faced with multiple opponents in a large room with few opportunities for cover without a lightsaber or the Force had been a daunting task, but she had little choice in the matter. At least Obi-Wan had agreed to stay behind. She wondered how long she would be able to keep him out of danger. She had been lucky so far. Each time she had had a safe place to leave Obi-Wan, and she had been able to convince him to stay there. She somehow doubted that both circumstances would continue. Whatever the reasons for him not being chosen as a padawan, it was clear that it was not because of a lack of courage or an excessively meek nature.

As much as she would like to continue resting, it would be best if she got back into view of the cameras, lest Obi-Wan fear something had happened to her. She headed towards the main computer console in the room. Hopefully, she would find some answers there.

Once at the console she took a moment to look out the window that spanned the entire front of the room. She could see other asteroids large and small in the blackness of space before her. She had seen many asteroid fields in her travels as a Jedi and a few since her exile. Some had an almost elegant beauty to them, if one took the time to look. Others were a dangerous obstacle course that constantly changed. Their borders were only crossed by the very skilled, the reckless, the desperate, or by Jedi pilots. In all of her travels, all those hours spent studying Galactic Geography under Master Kole's guidance, she had never heard of an asteroid field with such a terrible beginning.

According to what she had read in the security logs those asteroids along with the one she was currently within were once a part of the planet Peragus II. A stray blaster shot had triggered an explosion in the short-lived mining facility on the planet's surface. The blast had blown up a large chunk of the planet, creating the asteroid field.

Such a catastrophe would leave a large wound in the Force. Luckily, Obi-Wan was too young to be able to sense it. Remembering the corpses that have been in every room since they left the medical wing, the boy was already dealing with too much. He should not have been exposed to such things without a Master to help ease the burden. Nor should he be alone in such a life-threatening situation. And yet here he was with only a force-blind exile to protect him.

She would do the best she could. In the end that was all anyone could do.

Returning her focus to the computer console, she tried to access its records. Unfortunately, there was no access port for her to attempt to slice into the computer. Without the encryption code she would be unable to gain any useful information. It was a pity that there was not a utility droid around to break the code. Of course, considering the lethal nature of the droids of this place, perhaps it is best that one was not around.

Though she was unable to access the computer records, she was able to find the override switch to the force field protecting the door to the holding cells. The security officer who had put the field in place had hoped to use it to protect himself from the attacking droids. Sadly, he had died in the security office before he could make use of it.

While he had not been protected, the man currently in one of the holding cells had been. Though she was pleased to see that at least one person besides Obi-Wan and herself still lived in the facility, she was concerned that he had been arrested by the security of this place. She wondered if he could be trusted.

Well, she would be unable to determine his trustworthiness out here. As she walked towards the room, she silently prayed that Obi-Wan would stay in the security office while she questioned the man.

Taking a deep calming breath she entered the small room. Inside there were two force cages for temporary containment of individuals and two metal cages against one wall for more long-term guests.

Within one of the circular force cages was the man she had seen on the monitors in the security office. He looked the stereotypical scoundrel. He was average height with unkempt brown hair that almost but not quite reached his brown eyes ensuring the dark locks did not interfere with his vision in a fight. It looked as if he had not shaven in the last few days. His clothes were typical of his ilk. He looked like any number of scoundrels, spacers, and gamblers that she had seen in the Outer and Mid Rim throughout her life.

Predictably, when he saw her, his eyes followed a lecherous path from head to toe with a lengthy pause at chest-level before he said, "Niiice. If that's the new regulation uniform, I like it."

There were so many ways to respond. Before the War had changed everything, she had played many roles. Most often no acting was required for she would merely have to be the dutiful apprentice of Master Kole, there but not noticed as he performed whatever task the Council had assigned. But there were times, when she would need to act. Roles like helpless female, sultry temptress, cynical spacer, spoiled aristocrat, dim-witted simpleton, clueless tourist, carefree gambler, or hardened warrior were at times needed. But in those instances she had had the mission requirements or a character assessment with the Force's aid to help her determine how she should react. Here she had neither. It was a shame that the security office had yet to receive a response from the Republic about him. The holo-report of his arrest only mentioned his name and the reason for his detainment. More information would have helped her make her decision.

In the end she decided to act like a hardened warrior who would eviscerate you with the slightest provocation and she had the vibroblade in which to do so. Her small stature and med lab issue underwear did not help the image she was trying to project, but if the slight widening of his eyes were any indication, she was at least partially successful.

"Listen, Rand, if you know what's good for you, you'll watch where you keep your eyes. I've had a difficult day. You wouldn't want to upset me further."

"_You've_ had difficult day. I'm the one stuck here on some trumped up charges. They even stopped feeding me. Now that's criminal."

"Trumped up charges! You're the umron who smuggled in a blaster!"

"I'm not some glick miner jumped up on juma juice. _I_ hit what I shoot." If the steely glint in his eyes were any indication, he was not all bluster and hot air. Would he turn his lethal prowess on Obi-Wan and her?

"If you have a death wish, you should have taken it elsewhere. Otherwise, turn the blaster into security like everyone else." Given the type of lowlifes likely to come to a place like this, she would be shocked if any actually followed the regulations, even with Peragus II's exposed molten core as a glaring reminder of the risks of a single blaster shot. Only cowards and Republic officials would have actually complied with such a regulation. Atton Rand had just happened to be caught.

"Yeah, sure. And they would have given it right back to me when I left," was his sarcastic response.

"Why don't you tell me what happened here?"

"You mean before or after the Jedi showed up? Either way, it's a real short story. You see, this Jedi shows up, followed by some little boy Jedi. But the story gets better. See, some of the miners get it into their ferrocrete skulls that since the adult Jedi is unconscious, they can collect the bounty. Well, what passes for the law here didn't like that idea, so the two groups started fighting. Then there was some big explosion. They stopped feeding me. I was sitting here for a long time. Did I mention that they stopped feeding me? Then you showed up in your underwear and things got a _lot _better." She would have thought that his full bladder would be a greater issue than his empty stomach.

She was about to ask what bounty he was talking about when the door behind her opened. It would seem Obi-Wan had gotten tired of waiting in the security office. She had hoped he would stay there until she retrieved him.

Mr. Rand's eyes went wide as he looked from Kyr'na to Obi-Wan. "Hey wait a minute…you're both the Jedi the miners were talking about!"

"Me, a Jedi? I want to know who the stoopa is who started telling such ludicrous tales about me. Me and he can have a nice _little_ chat. Why don't you tell me about this bounty that they _mistakenly_ hoped to claim."

"What rock have you been living under? Everyone knows about the bounties."

"I must have missed the holo announcement when I returned to Republic space," was her sarcastic response. "Just tell me about the blasted bounties."

"Uh. Right. Not much to tell. There are two bounties. One for dead Jedi. The other for ones captured alive. Not that there are many left. Word is that there isn't even a Jedi Council anymore. They could all be dead for all I know"

She heard Obi-Wan take a deep shaky breath upon hearing Mr. Rand's words. It took all of her control not to let any of her own shock and grief show at hearing the news. The Order had been in existence for more than 20,000 years. Some must still live. She refused to believe that all could be lost.

"Why are there so few left?"

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Most were killed in the Mandalorian and Jedi Civil Wars. Those that survived ended up switching off the lightsabers long ago or being hunted down by bounty hunters."

Jedi Civil War. So the rumors she had heard were true. _Oh, Revan, why didn't you listen to me? You should have returned to the Council with me to face judgement. Even my terrible sentence was better than being the cause of the end of the Jedi Order and the near destruction of the Republic._

Before she could come up with a response to the distressing news, Mr. Rand asked, "Where is everybody?"

"You're the first living person we've come across."

"The miners can't all be gone. But if they are…Look, let me out, and I can help you. I've gotten out of trouble countless times."

"What do you have in mind?" Pushing aside her distress at the Order's possible destruction, she ensured her voice was full of suspicion. Her more immediate concerns were the current crisis and Obi-Wan and her safety. She was hoping that if she appeared strong and dangerous, he would be hesitant to try anything should he be released from the force cage. First impressions were so important, and she was already hindered by her slender build, sex, and lack of proper attire.

"This facility isn't a military installation, which means we may have a chance. You let me out, and I can reroute the emergency systems so we can get to the hangars. We grab a ship and then we fly out of here."

It was possible. She did not have the technical skills to pull it off, but he might. But could she trust him with Obi-Wan and her life? Did she have a choice?

Being careful to stay between Mr. Rand and Obi-Wan, she turned off the force field. "Rand, catch," she said as she tossed him one of the bepp cubes that she had found in the security office's desk. "Wouldn't want you collapsing due to hunger. There's a refresher next door. We'll meet you at the computer console."

As they waited in the Administration Center for Mr. Rand, it was clear that Obi-Wan wanted to say something but was hesitant to do so.

"What's on your mind?"

"Why…Why did you talk and act that way with that man?"

She had suspected that the problem was either her behavior towards Mr. Rand or the news of the Jedi. "We all wear masks, Obi-Wan. Which we choose to wear depends largely on the circumstances. Some masks…some masks are merely different aspects of our own personalities that we selectively show to some and not to others. Other masks have little to do with our true nature but are displayed due to necessity."

"But I do not wear masks."

"So you act the same when you are alone with your friends as you do when the Masters are watching you?"

"Well, no. But that is different!"

"Not really," she said with a smile remembering having a similar reaction. "It is the same thing, merely on a smaller scale."

"If everyone wears masks, how do you know whom to trust?" Now there was the difference between the two of them. When Master Kole had told a relatively new padawan about the masks people sometimes wear, she had been in the safety of the Temple. It had been a lesson in looking beneath the surface. But always was the understanding that Master Kole would be there to help her with the practical application of the lesson. Obi-Wan was alone in an unknown, dangerous place among strangers. Trust was a very real concern for the inexperienced youngling.

Choosing her words carefully, she said, "Knowing whom to trust can be difficult even to the very wise. Judge a person's words and actions. If possible look for any other information you can find out about them, their history, what others think of them. Always be ready to reevaluate their trustworthiness as new information becomes available. In the end, you must trust your instincts and in your case the Force." Remembering the rumors that she had heard about the Jedi Civil War and Revan's role in the conflict, she added, "But sometimes someone whom you've fought alongside, whom you've justifiably trusted with your life hundreds of times, a person whom you called friend… Sometimes they change. They become someone very different from who they once were. Do not judge their trustworthiness based on who they _were_, but on who they have _become_."

Obi-Wan was quiet for few moments as he absorbed her words before he asked in a quiet voice, "Which is the real you?"

Sighing deeply, she said, "I've spent almost ten years trying to answer a similar question. I haven't had much success." Who was she outside of the Order? Without the Force?

Before they could continue the awkward conversation, Mr. Rand joined them. She made sure that she was between the scoundrel and Obi-Wan before saying, "About time you got here, Rand."

Without responding he went up to the computer console and got to work. She was unable to completely follow what he was doing. It looked like he was somehow using the automated transmission being broadcast to any incoming ships to gain access to the console.

"Pure pazaak. The console's ours. Now all we need to do is re-activate the turbolifts, cancel emergency lockdown and…Hey!" Never a good sound to hear from your only expert in a dangerous situation.

"Sounds like you're about to tell me something I don't want to hear."

"This system's been severed from the main hub…after it was locked down from remote. You can't even reroute the system…It's been cut clean."

"Why would someone do that?" Obi-Wan asked quietly.

"That wouldn't be a part of the procedure in an emergency lockdown."

"It's not," Mr. Rand said agreeing with her. "Someone tried to lock down this whole level tight, and leave us here. Trapped."

"Is there anyway to cancel the lockdown?" Kyr'na asked.

"I doubt it. All we have is communications back, for all the good trying to shout in a vacuum will do us."

"Can we contact the miners?"

"We could try. But if the miners were trying to trap you up here and probably kill you, why not call them and chat? I don't think a friendly call is going to be all too welcome."

Mr. Rand's concerns were valid, but just because some of the miners might have been trying to capture or kill Obi-Wan and her, did not mean all were culpable.

She first tried the dormitories. After all, that was where the miners were directed when the lockdown was first initiated. "Can anyone down there hear me?" She received no response. She next tried the fuel depot, followed by the mining tunnels. Again no answer. The hangar bay was the last possibility.

"Beeee-weet. Bee-Deet," was heard through the intercom. That sounded like a utility droid. If it was using the droid-language that she thought it was, it was telling her its name.

Hopefully, this T3-M4 was not suffering from the same 'malfunction' as the mining droids. "We're trapped up on the Administration Level. Can you unlock the turbolifts?"

The droid gave a series of beeps and whistles explaining that the turbolifts were locked down manually.

"Is there some other way out of here besides the turbolifts?"

After hearing its response, she said, "Well, do the best you can. Watch out for the other droids. The mining droids on this level have been attacking us. Kyr'na out."

"Well?" Mr. Rand asked impatiently.

"The droid's going to see what it can do."

"So that's it. We're just going to sit here and wait on some scrap-heap."

"Do you have any better ideas? I didn't think so. It's up to T3-M4, now."


End file.
